In a communication network it is desirable to provide conference arrangements whereby many customers can be bridged together on a conference call. In the so called "dial-up" conference arrangements, each conferee is summoned at the appropriate time by establishing a communication path to the customer station. The customer is informed that he or she is wanted for a conference call and then added to the conference bridge where the customer can talk with the other conferees on the bridge.
When dial-up type conference arrangements are under the control of an operator, the operator's position can be furnished with supervisory equipment to permit the operator to monitor the status of each conference leg on the bridge in order to ascertain when a conferee answers, disconnects or is added to the bridge. Thus, the operator can inform the conferees on an existing conference when a new party is to be added to the bridge.
If the conference is controlled from a customer station it is generally not practical to provide each customer station with a supervisory capability similar to that of an operator's position.
Accordingly, if a customer is the conference originator, he or she can dial up each conferee and inform the conferee of the conference before the conferee is added to the bridge. Those conferees already connected to the bridge, however, will not be aware of the newly added party unless the new party announces his or her presence. This method of adding a conferee unannounced may be disruptive to the existing conference since the added conferee may be added during a private conversation on the bridge which was not meant to be heard by the newly added conferee.